


In need of shelter

by SoothsayerVenerean



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Animal Shelter, Awkward Flirting, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2020-08-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:08:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25727926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoothsayerVenerean/pseuds/SoothsayerVenerean
Summary: Sugawara's heart is craving some romance, but not the third-wheeling kind! Will the animal shelter he gets dragged to be the answer to the problems of his heart? Like, probably. Iwaizumi is unfairly attractive, Asahi and Daichi are lovey dovey and find a puppy, Oikawa is there.
Relationships: Azumane Asahi/Sawamura Daichi, Iwaizumi Hajime/Sugawara Koushi
Comments: 1
Kudos: 41





	In need of shelter

**Author's Note:**

> Alright! First time writing proper fluffy stuff! I adore IwaSuga, and it's my hope that you'll enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Love y'all <3

When your two best friends are dating, third wheeling is one of those things you learn to be almost okay with. Coming with Asahi and Daichi as they were looking at puppies to adopt from a nearby shelter? Slightly less okay. Suga didn’t really mean to be bitter or anything, but the sense of loneliness hanging over him since he broke up with his ex wasn’t exactly lessened at the thought of the two of them looking at puppies and gushing about moving in together. Still, his best friends they were, and that was the end of that. That’s what he tried telling himself, at least.

The shelter was a big, brown rectangle of a building. The lights pooling out of its windows were warm and inviting, and Suga was glad to be on foot again. Asahi’s driving was… An interesting experience.

“Asahi, you made Suga sick again. Look, he’s green.” Daichi’s teasing bass pulled Suga back to reality, as Asahi made flustered, defensive remarks.

“I do try, Daichi! You know the car has a veering problem, be nice! Ahh, I’m sorry Suga.” How the roguish face of Asahi could contort into such a worried, or perhaps worrying shape, was a mystery. It also got Suga bursting into laughter in the shelter lobby, seemingly breaking up a discussion that had been going on between the two staff behind the counter. The smell of animal hung in the air, and the two looked at them expectantly.

“Oh, sorry guys.” The ever reliable Daichi smiled casually, making his way up to the staff, Asahi trailing behind him. 

“That’s no problem, at all! Welcome! How may we help today?” The man on the left, Oikawa by his name tag, had that ever-so-friendly-customer-service-cadence. Suga knew it well from having worked a few part time jobs, and smiled gently at the guy. He couldn’t stand it. Even if the guy was quite handsome, in a princely sort of way. The other guy said nothing, arms crossed over his chest.

“We were thinking of-” Daichi and Asahi spoke in tandem, pausing to look at each other all adorably, before Daichi continued:

“We’re looking to adopt a puppy, preferably a mutt of some kind.” 

“Wonderful! You can just come with me, and I’ll show you the way. We’ve got a few that’ve come in this week…-” Oikawa led Asahi and Daichi through a door and down a corridor, while Suga stayed behind. He’d explained to them on the way that he had a bad headache, and really couldn’t handle a bunch of barking dogs right now. This was mostly true, but he also just wanted to be alone for a bit. And so, it was just him and the other staff member left in the lobby. The air outside was chilly. They’d all headed out after work, and so it was slowly getting darker… He’d wanted some time to himself, but now that he was alone he just wanted to curl into himself and sleep the world away.

“Hey. You alright…?” Sharp yet warm, a voice burned away the fog clouding Suga’s mind. He looked up to see the other cashier, having come round the front and standing close.  
“Uh…” Suga didn’t really know what to say to…- Iwaizumi, the name tag informed, but he was suddenly feeling self conscious. The guy had the sort of eyes that you couldn’t fool, and so Suga just shook his head.

“Oh. Uh… Do you like cats? Kittens, specifically?” Iwaizumi had a frown on his face, heavy brows indicating worry. He probably looked like that when he kissed too, Suga thought.

“I don’t think I could trust a soul who doesn’t,” Suga said with a tired smile. Apparently that was hilarious, because Iwaizumi grinned back at him with a look of appreciation.

“I’ve got something to show you then.” Iwaizumi clapped him twice on the shoulder with a warm, heavy hand, and walked towards the same door that the others had gone through. Deciding that coming along with a sort of hunk-y dude with a charming grin to look at some cats was a better deal than standing around moping, Suga followed. The smell and noises of animals came to the forefront as they passed through the door. It was pleasantly warm, and Iwaizumi walked with a confidence that put Suga at ease.

“Have you worked here for a long time, Iwaizumi-san?” His voice felt oddly loud as they walked, but Iwaizumi barked with laughter at the question.

“I was practically raised here. My parents left me to chill with the pups and kitties a lot. I’d love to take over someday, honestly.” They came to a stop as Iwaizumi finished his sentence, and he fiddled with a set of keys.

“And you? You seem like the student type, maybe?” He raised an eyebrow, and Suga couldn’t help but smile at the assumption. 

“What makes you say that?” Suga reached up to brush a lock of hair behind his ear. They were standing in front of a door, but Iwaizumi wasn’t really making a move to open it. Rather, he cocked his head to the side, looking amused as he spoke in a dry tone.

“You’re wearing a yellow cardigan and carrying a book bag, dude. You’ve got that cute-student-boy kinda look. Just missing the glasses.” With that, he turned to unlock the door, and Suga could feel his face go up in flames. What the fuck. 

“I can smell it now, your secret plan.” 

“No secret plans here, just wanna show you my pussy,” Iwaizumi said, turning back to wink in an unfairly charming and hot sort of way, before opening the door. They were met by a cacophony of meowing and shrieking, as a play pen housing a herd of kittens came into view. Suga did not know what to say to that, and instead focused on the absolutely adorable little furballs playing on their pink blanket. Probably from the same litter, they were red and white, as well as one just white. Suga’s heart was about to stop from their little faces.

“You can just plop yourself down and they’ll do their thing.” Iwaizumi did just that, as if to demonstrate. Suga did not generally struggle with simple instructions, but he hesitated at the edge of the pen. 

“What?” Iwaizumi had that stupid amused look on his face, yet again.

“It’s a little crowded; I don’t wanna like… Squish them.” Suga did think of himself as a fairly dextrous person, but the idea of splatting a little cat somehow seemed a bit gauche. One foot in, and then another. He did his best to slowly but surely lower himself down, while Iwaizumi- the bastard man, did little but look at him with devilish amusement. Just as Suga felt about ready to sit down properly, one of the kittens snuck beneath him. With a yelp, he spun around, trying his best to avoid landing on any of the little fuzz balls.

“I’ve got you.” Suga felt a strong hand on either shoulder, steadying him enough to where he could exhale the tense breath…- before feeling himself tip the other way, barging right into Iwaizumi with a thud. The whole situation was very dramatic and for a moment, Suga didn’t know much else than that he desperately needed a cup of coffee after this. Or a shot of whiskey.

“Well, I sort of got you. The kittens are fine, at least.” Suga opened his eyes wide- he felt the surface he recognised must be Iwaizumi’s chest rumble with every word. Indeed, it seemed as if the world had become an awful romantic comedy, if only to spite him. He was sprawled, fairly comfortably, all over the guy.

“Well-” he pushed himself off of the guy so as to sit next to him, giving his absolute attention to anything other than the awkward situation before him- “they are very cute.”

“Yup.” Iwaizumi sat up as well, and Suga cradled one of the red-white kittens in his lap. Running a finger along its soft tummy as it mewled was… Therapeutic, and a good distraction from several things.

“Do they have names?” He stared up through his eyelashes, anticipating another smug expression, though he was met with an attentive gaze.

“Sure do.” He pointed to each in turn, and spoke.

“Matcha, Mochi, Miso, Milk, Momo, Maki-” Iwaizumi’s finger trailed from kitten to kitten, until it landed on Suga.

“And?” 

“Oh, uh… Suga? Sugawara Koushi.” It seemed like the rational response, but apparently it was very funny.

“Are you a kitten too, Suga?” Iwaizumi said, raising an eyebrow and smiling.

“What.” What.

“You responded, but I was pointing out the kittens, you know?” Iwaizumi was hard to read, but Suga couldn’t detect any malice in his eyes. Meaning that a very attractive guy was teasing him flirtily while he was playing with kittens. Wonderful.

“Iwaizumi-san, I’m trying to be heartbroken and lonely over here, why are you making it so hard for me?” Did this count as flirting back? Venting to a complete stranger whom he was petting kittens with? The world was very uncertain, but it helped to look at the cats and not at Iwaizumi. Suga was a master of strategy.

“Are you crushing on one of the guys you came here with, or what?” Apparently the response wasn’t going to be teasing this time, which was honestly a relief. Looking up to face The Bastard, The Bastard in question was in fact looking at him with concern.

“Oh, nooooo, no.” Suga shook his head, smiling a little at the notion.

“I parted ways a few months back with a guy I was dating. It sort of, like… Hurts a little bit, seeing my two best friends all the time when they’re so happy together. And then I feel like a shitty person for not being happier for them, and it’s just… A whole thing.” Suga sighed, his mind as complicated as his expression would suggest.

“A whole damn thing, huh. I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Yeah…” And that was the end of that, which was honestly fine. Suga felt as though he’d turn any conversation they might have sour, so maybe it was just best to be silent. Fuck. The kittens helped, though. This was honestly one of the better things that had happened to him, this week. Matcha had climbed up with her little claws to snooze just beneath his chin, and was purring quietly. It was nice. He’d always liked cats.

“Who broke up with who?” Was Iwaizumi sensitive or a bull in a china shop? He would never know.

“He… Found someone else, so…” Suga could feel wicked tentacles of bitterness clawing at his insides. His jaw stiffened.

“Well that’s fucking stupid of him, then. I’m surprised you’re still single.” 

“Mm-hmm.”

“Mm-hmm?” Iwaizumi tilted his head to the side.

“Mm-hmm. You’re… Actually a pretty good guy, aren’t you. What the heck.” Suga smiled a little to himself. Iwaizumi snickered.

“Heck, huh.”   
“Nevermind, you suck,” Suga deadpanned.

“Would it be too cheesy to make a joke about sucking, Suga?” 

Suga looked up, staring at Iwaizumi, trying to find within himself the strength to deal with the entire situation. Picking a page from Daichi’s book, he chose to be straightforward.

“Are you being a flirty asshole right now, or just an asshole?” 

“I’m trying to be suave and charming and shit, though-” Iwaizumi raked his fingers through his hair “- I’m sorry if you’re not interested or it’s too much, or something.” He suddenly looked very serious and responsible, which made Suga’s heart thump.

“Well, accountability is my kink, so I’d say you’re not doing too bad for yourself.” He nuzzled into the kitten underneath his chin, before continuing-

“I really appreciate this, thank you.”

“You kind of looked like you needed it, honestly. Or, well, you looked like you needed a hug, but that’s not really a thing you just do with strangers.”

“True… I also enjoy the fact that the next best thing is letting me cuddle with kittens.”

“It’s pretty good, isn’t it?” Iwaizumi proffered, to which Suga nodded in response.

“You’re pretty good, too.” Now they were both smiling at each other, and the intimate nature of the air was thick and cloying like oatmeal, but like, in a romantic sort of way. Nice. What was less nice, however, was that a sort of non-kitten noise suddenly entered the room. The door swung open, and in piled Daichi, Asahi and the other cashier guy. They practically oozed “We’re a cute couple who just got a cute little dog together, cutely”. Suga was expecting a certain heaviness in his tummy, but he found himself smiling with the same joy he could see on their faces.

“Suga! Look at her!” Asahi did the Simba pose, holding out a black labrador puppy. She was panting very excitedly, though she also looked as though she might prefer being held close to Asahi rather than taking a trip in the air.

“Very cute-” Suga leaned his head to the side, smiling “- what are you gonna name her?” 

“Captain.”

“Lady.”

Daichi and Asahi spoke in tandem, before looking at each other once more.

“Dai-chan, we’ve talked about this… It sounds like something a cop would name their dog."

“No it doesn’t, and Lady sounds like the dog is a hundred years old, it’s weird.” This was clearly a discussion that had been had several times over. Before long, there was A Squabble, and Suga couldn’t help the snort of laughter welling up inside him. He didn’t see that Iwaizumi was looking at him with a fond expression, though it was apparent to everyone else in the room. Including the kittens, naturally. Scheming little creatures.

The evening did draw to a close, as evenings are want to do. Asahi and Daichi stuffed the trunk of their car to the brim with doggie-related objects of amusing shapes and incalculable purpose. Iwaizumi offered to drive Suga home. Matcha was purring the whole way. Sometimes, things work out? Wild. And… Kinda nice.


End file.
